On-line, real-time game playing with search facility

ABSTRACT

A gaming application is disclosed which is executable by a computer workstation such as a general purpose computer. The workstation is linked to a central gaming server over a network such as the Internet. The application includes a search facility whereby a player can enter search criteria (essentially player preferences) in order to identify available instances of games that have attributes of interest. The search criteria data is sent to the gaming server. The gaming server searches a database of current on-line game instances and responds by sending a datagram containing data for instances of games meeting the search criteria, which are then displayed on the workstation. In one form, the search facility includes a “quick start” feature whereby the user can request that they directly join an instance of a game in progress which meets the search criteria. If the player used the “quick start” feature, and the gaming server found a match, the player is taken directly to the game instance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for providingon-line, real-time game playing over computer networks such as theInternet. More particularly, this disclosure relates to methods ofenabling players to search for and join an on-line real-time game from apool of available instances of games. Aspects of this invention allowplayers to locate and to join desired on-line real-time games from amultitude of on-line games coordinated by a gaming server in a moreefficient manner than previously known. The invention is applicable togames generally, examples of which are multi-player card games such aspoker, black jack, and bridge, as well as multi-player video slots orother multiplayer wager games.

A system and method for playing games, such as card games, over acomputer network is described in published PCT application WO 03/093921A2, published Nov. 13, 2003, which is assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention. The entire contents of WO 03/093921 A2 areincorporated by reference herein. The system of the '921 PCT publicationincludes a central gaming server accessible over the Internet andenables participation in games such as poker games by individualsaccessing diverse portal websites (gaming websites).

In the last several years, systems have been commercialized such asdescribed in the '921 patent publication wherein a gaming websiteprovides a facility for on-line game playing, particularly on-line pokerplaying. Such systems have become quite popular and gaming sites mayhost hundreds, even thousands of players at a time. In on-line poker,the success of an on-line poker web site (“on-line poker room”) isdirectly related to the magnitude of a pool of would-be players whodesire to play a game of on-line poker. Simply put, the larger the poolof players, the more virtual poker tables (i.e. poker games eachaccommodating a maximum of, say, 10 players) the on-line poker softwarecan spawn, thereby increasing the overall liquidity of the on-line pokerroom and increasing its attractiveness to other would-be players.

In order to maximize this size advantage, some on-line poker roomsoperate under a centralized topology, in which there is a singleoperating entity (“operator”) that owns and runs the gaming web site andthe player pool is homogeneous (i.e. all players are registered with, or“belong to”, this single operator). The operator makes its money bycharging a proportion (a “rake”) of the collective wagers (“the pot”) ofall players participating in each game of poker that is played in theon-line poker room. Under a centralized topology, a player will alwaysbe playing only with other players who are registered with the same(i.e. the only) operator. Settlement of player wagers isstraightforward: 1) the operator deducts its rake from the pot; 2) thebalance is paid over to the player that has won the game; and 3) thenext game starts and the process repeats.

Other on-line poker rooms may operate under a distributed topology (alsoreferred to, in the art, as a network topology). Under this topology,the player pool is heterogeneous, as players registered with differentoperators are pooled together to maximize liquidity of the collectiveplayer pool. This means that players registered with different operatorscould find themselves playing in the same poker game. In this instancesettlement of player wagers is more complex than in the centralizedtopology as situations invariably arise in which finds have to betransferred, (or “cleared”), between different operators whose playersare playing on the poker network involving a multitude of operators. Theprinciples underlying a distributed topology are set forth in theabove-referenced patent application WO 03/093921 A2. The presentinventive methods apply to both the centralized and distributedtopologies.

FIG. 1 is a screen shot from an on-line poker room home or “lobby” page,showing a prior art arrangement for providing real time game informationto a potential game player. The player accesses the gaming web siteusing a personal computer or other computing device with Internetaccess. As shown in FIG. 1, the lobby is presented on the user interfaceof the computing device. The lobby presents a display of eightcategories or types of card games that are currently available for playvia the web site (either under a centralized or a distributed topology).Each game type is associated with a tab:

Tab 1) Hold'em—poker games of the Texas Hold'em variety;

Tab 2) Omaha—poker games of the Omaha variety;

Tab 3) Omaha H/L—poker games of the Omaha Hi/Lo variety;

Tab 4) 7 Stud—poker games of the 7-Card Stud variety;

Tab 5) 5 Stud—poker games of the 5-Card Stud variety;

Tab 6) Private—invitation-only poker games established by players;

Tab 7) Sit & Go—non-scheduled tournaments; and

Tab 8) MTT (Multi-Table Tournaments)—scheduled tournaments.

When any of the first five tabbed categories or types is selected, aplayer is presented with a list of all tables with poker games of thatparticular variation that are currently active. See FIG. 1, which showsthe tables for the Hold'em game (tab 1). For each active game instance(virtual table) in the list, the following attributes are displayed:

a) name of the table (typically, fanciful names to spark playerinterest, but may also be in the form of a number or index);

b) table stakes in the format: Small Blind/Big Blind;

c) number of Participating Players/Max number of Players that can beaccommodated;

d) whether the table is a no limit table, a pot limit table or a fixedlimit table;

e) average size of pots at that table;

f) average number of players who have not yet folded at the flop stageof the game;

g) number of players waiting to join the table; and

h) number of hands played per hour.

Note the scroll feature 10 of FIG. 1. If the person scrolls down usingthe slide bar 12, additional virtual tables in the Hold-em category arepresented. Note that there may be dozens, potentially hundreds, oftables available under this category. The user scrolls down to see allthe available tables. This scroll feature is typically found in each ofthe game categories or tabs of FIG. 1.

Sit & Go Tournaments (Tab 7 of FIG. 1) are poker tournaments that haveno pre-set start time and that commence when a prescribed number ofplayers required for the tournament have entered the tournament.Sit-and-Go tournaments can be single-table or multi-table tournaments.When the Sit & Go tabbed category is selected, a player is presentedwith a list of all Sit & Go tournaments that are either active or arepending. For each Sit & Go tournament in the list, the followingattributes are displayed:

-   -   a) a tournament identification code;    -   b) a name of the tournament;    -   c) a type of poker game played in the tournament;    -   d) whether the tournament is a no limit, pot limit or fixed        limit tournament;    -   e) number of seats available in the tournament;    -   f) the current size of blinds for active tournaments, and the        number of players already entered for pending tournaments.

MTT (Tab 8 of FIG. 1) are poker tournaments that have a scheduled starttime. Players are required to enter the tournament and to be availableto commence play in time for the scheduled start of the tournament. Whenthe MTT tabbed category is selected, a player is presented with a listof all MTT tournaments (same instances) that are either active or arepending. See FIG. 2. For each MTT tournament in the list, the followingattributes are displayed:

-   -   a) a tournament identification code;    -   b) a name of the tournament;    -   c) a type of poker game played in the tournament;    -   d) buy-in rules;    -   e) number of entrants for the tournament; and    -   f) a current size of blinds for active tournaments and a        scheduled start time for pending tournaments.

If one considers the amount of information displayed in the displays ofFIG. 1-2, and the fact that a multitude (hundreds or even thousands) ofplayers and potential players may be simultaneously playing(particularly in a distributed topology where players registered withmultiple different web site operators are pooled into one large pool),it is apparent that a substantial burden is placed on a central gamingserver coordinating play to keep each player's lobby screen displayupdated with current information. The information displayed on eachplayer's lobby screen is dynamic since players are continually joiningand dropping out of games, and table statistics constantly change. Forexample, if a table that would appear from FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 to have oneor more vacant “seats,” dozens if not hundreds of persons may attempt tojoin the table within a span of a few minutes, especially in a period ofhigh demand. As a result, vacant seats may be taken up in a matter ofseconds. Persons who may think they are going to join a particular tablemay not be able to do so, as the information in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 will beinaccurate as it might not yet have updated by a heavily loaded gamingserver to indicate that there are no more vacant seats available.Similarly, the statistics on pot size, average payout, number of handsplayed per hour, etc. will change constantly and players expect thisinformation to be up to date and accurate. However, given the dynamicnature of on-line gaming playing, such statistics may in fact changecontinuously. As a result, it is important that the lobby informationpresented to players accessing and using on-line gaming software be bothcurrent and accurate, and remain so on an ongoing basis. If it is not(for example, a player keeps trying to join a table that indicates avacant seat, but is unable to do so), the player may get discouraged orfrustrated and quit playing or log onto a different site.

To summarize, every player that is logged on to gaming website or agaming system must be presented with all the data that can be displayedon the lobby page, as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2. The data on thelobby page is obtained from a central gaming server and transmitted to aplayer's client computing device by means of the Internet. The data isdynamic, since players may enter and leave non-tournament poker games atany time, new poker tables may be spawned by the poker server duringperiods of high player demand and may be collapsed and consolidatedduring times of low player demand. Further, tournaments commence andterminate, and numbers of players entered in tournaments change overtime. This means that fresh data must be re-transmitted from the gamingserver to each computing device periodically. The data is, ideally,real-time (or substantially real-time), giving the player an accuratesnapshot of the state of the poker network. Further, it is not uncommonfor several thousand players to be connected and playing simultaneouslyduring peak periods.

The net result of this situation is that the gaming server can beswamped by the load placed on it in servicing (i.e., updating) the lobbydata tables (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) to the computers of all ofthe players that are logged in. The result of this overload may causethe responsiveness of the gaming server to degrade, i.e., slow down oreven crash. The update frequency of the lobby data on each computerworkstation consequently decreases, which results in unfortunateconsequences such as, for example, a player wishing to join a pokertable or a tournament on the basis of stale lobby data that indicates,say, that a vacant seat exists at that poker table or tournament butwhich, in reality, has no vacancies as the last remaining seat hasalready been taken up.

This problem of timely and accurate updating of client computers as togame or tournament information and game statistics, without degradationof gaming server performance, is one of scalability. Moreover, the moreplayers that join the network the more load is placed on the centralgaming server to provide updates. As more players join and the overloadproblem gets worse, the result may be that players stop playing or goelsewhere to play. Thus, this problem presents a bottleneck thatseriously limits the ability of the gaming website operators toaccommodate more players. The inability to accommodate more playersdiminishes the potential revenue of the gaming website operators.

The conventional solution to the problem is to utilize more serverhardware. However, even this approach leaves something to be desiredsince it is more expensive to provide more server hardware, and evenwith more server hardware some degradation in performance may stilloccur during peak times, particularly as the number of participants inon-line gaming continues to grow. The art has failed to adequatelyaddress this problem.

A system that presents and updates information to players engaged inon-line gaming and that overcomes this problem and allows new levels ofscalability to be achieved is described in U.S. patent application ofthe present inventor, Ser. No. 11/159,051 filed Jun. 21, 2005, which isassigned to the assignee of the present invention. The '051 applicationis not admitted as describing prior art. The entire contents of the '051application are incorporated by reference herein.

The system of the '051 application includes a gaming server thattransmits game lobby pages to a multitude of distributed computingdevices accessing a gaming website or websites over a network such asthe Internet. In order to overcome the abovementioned scalabilityproblems, game data in the lobby displays is transmitted as individualpages along with icons by which players can request additional pages fordisplay. Updates are performed for only the displayed pages. Thisapproach provides a significant improvement in server and networkperformance over prior techniques in which all game statistics for aparticular type of game was sent to each workstation and the workstationwould scroll through the entire data set as necessary to view all thegame data.

FIG. 3 is a screen shot from an on-line poker room home or “lobby” pageshowing the arrangement for providing real-time game information asdisclosed in the '051 application. As shown in FIG. 3, the lobbypresents a display of seven categories or types of card games that arecurrently available for play via the web site (either under acentralized or a distributed topology). Each game type is associatedwith a tab:

Tab 14) Hold'em—poker games of the Texas Hold'em variety;

Tab 16) Omaha—poker games of the Omaha variety;

Tab 18) 7 Card Stud—poker games of the 7-Card Stud variety;

Tab 20) 5 Card Stud—poker games of the 5-Card Stud variety;

Tab 22) 1 On 1—poker games of the Heads-Up variety;

Tab 24) Sit & Go—non-scheduled tournaments; and

Tab 26) Multi Table—scheduled tournaments. When any of the first fourtabbed categories or types is selected, a player is presented with alist 28 of all tables with poker games of that particular variation thatare currently active. See FIG. 3, which shows the tables for the Hold'emvariation (tab 14). In contrast with the lobby page of FIG. 1, there isno scroll feature by which the player may view additional tables in theHold'em category. Instead, page icons 30 are displayed by means of whichthe player can select additional lobby pages displaying additionaltables in the Hold'em category.

When a particular lobby page such as that shown in FIG. 3 is displayed,the page is periodically updated. The updating can be on a fixed periodor it can be when there is any change in the underlying data, or both,and there is no need or occasion to update data for instances of thegames that are not currently displayed. Accordingly, when the serversends the update page to the computing device displaying lobby pages,there is no updating of game information for non-displayed instances ofgames as there would be if scrolling were done as in FIGS. 1 and 2 inorder to view all the instances of the selected game type. As a result,the processing burden on a gaming server continuously updating hundredsor thousands of computers all at the same time is substantially reduced,enabling improved server and poker network performance to surpass thecapability of the prior art.

Although the system disclosed in the '051 application addresses theproblem of scalability and server efficiency, a player is still facedwith the problem of having to filter displayed game data, whether inscrollable or paged format, in order to locate a suitable on-line,real-time poker game to join, which suits the player's requirements orplaying style. For example, the player may wish to join only a highstakes poker game, or may wish to join a poker game that has a largernumber of participating players, or a game in which the pots for whichthe players compete are large relative to the table stakes. Suchfiltering can be time-consuming and tedious for a player, irrespectiveof whether the lobby game data displayed to the player in a scrollablewindow or by means of separate selectable pages of game data.

Keen poker players wish to spend more time playing the game and lesstime searching for a suitable game to join. It is desirable to provide ameans to enable a player to commence play at an on-line, real-time pokergame that is quick and convenient, and that minimizes any delay inenabling the player to commence play.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, a gaming application is provided which is executableby a computer workstation. The workstation is linked to a central gamingserver over a network such as the Internet. The gaming applicationcomprises a set of machine readable instructions stored on a memorydevice. The instructions comprise:

a) instructions for presenting on the workstation display a searchfacility whereby a player can enter search criteria or parametersidentifying attributes of on-line games of interest to the player; and

b) instructions for transmitting the search criteria to the centralgaming server, whereby the central gaming server may search a databaseof current on-line game instances to identify a set of at least one gameinstance meeting the search criteria.

The search facility may take the form of a search engine featuring asearch icon displayable by the gaming application. When the playerselects the icon, they are presented with a dialog box where the playermay indicate attributes for games they are interested, such as pot size,type of game, number of players, and so forth. The search criteria willof course vary depending on the type of game or games coordinated by thecentral gaming server. Examples are set forth below of search criteriapertaining to on-line wager games such as poker. As the invention isapplicable to games generally, the search criteria discussed below areprovided for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

In one embodiment, the search criteria are stored in a memory in theworkstation. The gaming application displays a search icon, and in theevent that search criteria are already stored in memory and the searchicon is selected by the player, the instructions of the gamingapplication transmit the stored search criteria to the gaming server.This feature eliminates the need to repeatedly enter search criteria,which, for most players, may remain the same over time.

In one embodiment, the search facility includes a “quick start” facilitywhereby the user may indicate they wish to be directed automatically toa game instance meeting a player preference profile. The playerpreference profile is essentially a set of search criteria specifyingattributes of games that are of interest, such as pot size, the numberof players at a table, buy-in amount, etc. The player preference profileused in the quick start facility may be the same as the search criteriaused in the general search facility, or may differ.

In another aspect, a method of facilitating selection of games for playby a remotely located player using a computer workstation is provided.The workstation is linked over a computer network to a central gamingserver. The method includes a step of receiving at the gaming server asearch request from the workstation, the search requests includingsearch criteria data identifying attributes of games of interest to theplayer. The gaming server searches a database of current game instancesfor instances meeting the search criteria, and responsively provides tothe workstation a datagram identifying one or more game instancesmeeting the search criteria.

In still another aspect, a “quick start” method is provided ofautomatically connecting a player with an on-line instance of a game,the player using a computer workstation linked to a central gamingserver over a computer network. The method includes the steps of:

presenting to the player a display on the workstation wherein the playermay enter one or more player preferences identifying attributes of gamesof interest to the player;

sending a first datagram to the gaming server containing the playerpreferences;

receiving the first datagram at the gaming server and responsivelysearching through a database containing instances of games to identifyat least one game instance meeting the player preferences; and

returning a second datagram to the workstation which automaticallydirects the player to a game instance identified by the gaming server asmeeting the player preferences.

In one further aspect, player preferences entered at the workstation arestored on the workstation. Thereafter, the player may later select anicon indicating they wish to join an instance of a game meeting thestored player preferences and such selection causes a third datagram tobe sent to the gaming server to prompt selection by the gaming server ofan instance of a game meeting the player preferences. In this manner,the player may join a game meeting their preferences simply by one clickof a button, e.g., a “quick start” icon or a “join table” icon, withouthaving to scroll through large sets of game instances or viewingmultiple pages of game instances to find one for they want play.

In yet another aspect, a central gaming system is provided whichfacilitates searching of games for play by a player using a remotelylocated workstation. The gaming system includes a database storing datarepresenting multiple instances of games. The gaming server takes theform of a processing unit executing machine readable instructions. Theprocessing unit searches the database in response to search criteriatransmitted to the gaming sever from the workstation in order toidentify instances of games of interest to the player meeting the searchcriteria. The gaming server instructions cause the gaming server totransmit a datagram to the workstation identifying at least one instanceof a game meeting the search criteria.

In one embodiment, the gaming server is operative to join theworkstation to an instance of a game meeting the search criterionautomatically, e.g., when the search facility is in the form of a “quickstart” or like feature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced Figures of thedrawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosedherein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

FIG. 1 is a prior art lobby page displayed on a workstation by a clientapplication providing for game playing over a computer network, thelobby page including a plurality of tabs corresponding to particulargame types and under each tab a display of a plurality of instances ofgames of the selected game type, wherein scrolling is a tool for displayof additional instances of games under the selected game type.

FIG. 2 is a prior art lobby page displayed on a workstation by a clientapplication providing for game playing, wherein in the user has selectedthe MTT (multi-table tournaments) and a number of instances oftournaments are displayed, again with scrolling being the tool fordisplay of additional instances of the tournaments.

FIG. 3 is a lobby page in which game instance information is displayedas a page of information and the user is provided with graphical userinterface tools such as “next page”, or page number icons to requestadditional pages.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a system for providing game playing fora plurality of distributed computing devices, in which a central serverprovides lobby page data to the distributed computing devices using thetechniques of this disclosure. While FIG. 4 shows a distributed networktopology, the principles of this disclosure are applicable to acentralized topology.

FIGS. 5-12 are examples of a search feature in the form of a searchengine configurable to locate a subset of instances of games andtournaments of a selected game type that possess predeterminedcharacteristics or attributes specified by a player. The use of thesearch engine as shown in FIGS. 5 to 12 has been discovered to solve thescreening problems associated with the design of the lobby pages ofFIGS. 1 to 3.

FIGS. 13-15 are examples of pages having a “quick start” search featureenabling a player to have the gaming server search for a game instancemeeting player preferences and automatically join the player to a gameinstance (e.g., game or tournament instance) that possessescharacteristics matching the preference profile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Overview

The present disclosure provides for new methods of facilitating a playerlocating and joining desired on-line real-time games from a multitude ofavailable on-line games that are coordinated by a gaming server and thatare accessible through an on-line gaming site in a more efficient mannerthan prior art methods.

In one aspect, the solution presented by this disclosure is to provide agaming client application which has a search facility, e.g., in the formof a search engine, which is configurable by a player to locate a subsetof all available instances of an on-line real-time game that arecoordinated by a gaming server and that conform to search parameters orcriteria selected by the player. Various embodiments of the searchfacility are shown in FIGS. 5 to 12 and will be described in detailsubsequently. It has been discovered that screening all availableinstances of the on-line real-time game to identify a subset thereofthat possess certain predetermined characteristics, as described herein,enables a player to more quickly locate a suitable instance of theon-line real-time game to join relative to known prior art methods.

In one example, the search facility is in the form of a search enginewherein the player can identify attributes or criteria for games thatare of interest to the player. For example, the player invokes thesearch engine by clicking a search icon on the game lobby page (as shownin FIGS. 1-3), which causes a dialog box to be presented to the player.The player can, by means of the dialog box, configure search parametersrelating to a type of on-line real-time game that the player wishes toplay. Once a player has configured the search parameters, a searchengine operated by the central gaming server screens all availableinstances of the on-line real-time game to locate a subset thereofcomprising those game instances that match the search parameters. Thesubset of games located by the search engine is displayed to the player,and the player is then able to select one of the game instances in thedisplayed search results in order to join the game. For example, theplayer places their cursor over a displayed instance and clicks themouse, whereupon the player is presented with the game instance andjoins the play.

The solution to the player search problem described herein has beensuccessful in that it allows a player to locate a suitable instance ofan on-line real-time gave from all available instances of the game morequickly than can be achieved by means of an unstructured search throughraw game data, whether in scrollable or in paged format.

In another aspect, the search facility presented by this disclosureincludes. a feature, “quick start” herein, whereby a player can have thegaming server search for and automatically join the player to aninstance of an on-line real-time game meeting search criteria. Suchsearch criteria may be considered or viewed as a player preferenceprofile, basically criteria for games that the player is interested injoining. Examples of this feature are shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 and willbe described in detail subsequently.

For example, the player invokes the search and quick start feature byclicking on a “quick start” icon on the game lobby page (as shown inFIGS. 1-3). On the first occasion that the player clicks the “quickstart” icon on the lobby page, a dialog box is presented to the player.The dialog box enables the player to configure search criteria orparameters relating to a type of on-line real-time game that the playerwishes to play. Once the player has configured game preferenceparameters, these are stored locally on the workstation for subsequentuse. When stored preference parameters already exist, the player istaken, after clicking the icon on the game lobby page, to an instance ofthe on-line real-time game that matches the player's stored preferences,either after obtaining the player's confirmation to do so, orautomatically, without confirmation. The player can alter the storedpreference parameters at any stage.

The solution to the problem of enabling a player to quickly commencegame play has been achieved by way of transmitting a player preferenceprofile to a gaming server which uses the player preference profile toselect a game instance and automatically, or nearly so, joining theplayer to a game that matches the profile. Moreover, in the situationwhere the player profile is stored in a permanent or semi-permanentfashion in the gaming workstation, they can later join a game meetingtheir preferences with only one or two clicks of the mouse. For example,they could activate an icon indicating they wish to use the “quickstart” feature, and then click “join game” or “join tournament”. Thestored player preference profile is transmitted to the gaming server andthe server automatically searches for a currently active game instancemeeting the criteria specified in the player preference profile. Thegaming server returns a datagram to the workstation joining the playerto a selected game meeting the player's preference profile. Such afeature greatly streamlines the process of a player joining a gamehaving gaming characteristics of interest to them. The need fordisplaying multiple lobby pages at the workstation, or scrolling througha long list of tables or pages of a given game type to find a game ofinterest is eliminated entirely.

Before describing the various embodiments in greater detail, anexplanation will be provided first of a computer-based system foron-line game playing, in which multiple distributed computing devicesengage in playing of card games using a central server and, inparticular, wager games such as poker. The following description isoffered by way illustration, and not limitation, of one possibleenvironment in which the invention can be practiced.

Referring to FIG. 4, a system for playing a game of multiplayer poker isindicated generally by reference numeral 40. The system 40 includes acentral gaming server 42, and a number of portals 43 a, 43 b in the formof portal websites on the World Wide Web of the Internet. In thisembodiment each one of the portal websites is an on-line casino websitehosted on a corresponding casino web server (not shown). Each one of theon-line casino websites 43 a, 43 b is accessible by a would-be pokerplayer (not shown) through a user access facility 44 in the form ofcomputing device such as an Internet-enabled computer workstation havinga display 45 and an associated pointing device 45 a, such as a mouse or,alternatively, a touchpad. In this embodiment, the on-line casinowebsite 43 a, is shown as having one computer workstation 44 logicallyconnected thereto, whereas casino website 43 b is shown as beinglogically connected to two computer workstations 44. It will beappreciated by those skilled in the art that such an on-line casinowebsites 43 a, 43 b can be logically connected to any desired number ofsuch computer workstations 44 simultaneously, which number is physicallylimited primarily by considerations of processing power, websitehardware, and Internet access bandwidth.

The gaming server 42 includes a processing unit (such as a centralprocessing unit, not shown) and a database 53 coupled to the processingunit which stores game information data for a plurality of instances ofgames played by the workstations 44. The database 53 is updatedcontinuously to store real-time or near real time information as to theplurality of instances of games, such as the name of each instance(e.g., table name), the players at each table, the stakes, availableseats, waiting time, etc. The gaming server 42 provides the gameinformation data (lobby pages) to the distributed computing devices 44,in the form of pages. The pages include icons or tools by which theusers of the devices 44 can request additional pages. Additionally, theserver 42 transmits periodic updates to displays of instances of games(e.g., lobby pages) to the plurality of distributed computing devices 44by means of transmitting pages of updated data. Game information forinstances of a game type that are not currently displayed in the lobbypage are not periodically updated on the plurality of distributedcomputing devices 44, as would be the case with a scrolling solution asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingly, the ability of the server 42 toupdate the plurality of distributed computing devices 44 in real time orsubstantial real time without substantial degradation in performance ofthe gaming server 42 is achieved.

The gaming server 42 further includes software functioning as a searchengine or screening function to sort instances of games stored on thedatabase 53 to find ones meeting search criteria, as explained below.

The system 40 includes, further, an administration facility 52 in theform of an application server, which is communicable with the gamingserver 42 along a communication network 49. Although the operation ofthe application web server 52 will be outlined briefly in thedescription that follows, further details are not particularly pertinentto the present discussion and the reader is directed to the published'932 PCT application cited above for further reference.

The gaming server 42, the on-line casino web servers (not shown)corresponding to the on-line casino websites 43 a, 43 b, the computerworkstations 44 and the application web server 52 are capable ofcommunicating with each other by means of an open communication networkthat is, in this embodiment, the Internet. The Internet is representedin FIG. 4 as separate logical communication networks (46, 47, 48 and49).

The application web server 52 provides a clearing account facility 58(e.g., database) that has a clearing account corresponding to each oneof the on-line casino websites 43 a, 43 b. Analogously, each on-linecasino websites 43 a, 43 b includes a corresponding credit accountfacility 54 a, 54 b with a credit account corresponding to each playerwho participates in the game of poker through a computer workstation 44logically connected to that casino website. In the illustratedembodiment, therefore, the credit account facility 54 a has one playercredit account associated with it, while credit account facility 54 bhas two associated player credit accounts. The manner of clearingaccounts among the operators of the web sites 53 a, 53 b is notparticularly important and is described in the aforementioned published'921 PCT application.

The gaming server 42 operates under control of a server-stored program(not shown) capable of enabling a predetermined maximum number, say 8 or10, of players to play an instance of the game of multiplayer poker.Each instance of the game may take the form of a virtual card tableplaying a particular game (e.g., Hold'em) or virtual game tournament,such as a virtual poker tournament. When the number of players for agiven instance of a game reaches this predetermined maximum number, theserver-stored program causes a further instance of the game to beinitiated (e.g., a new virtual poker table), the new instance of thegame also being capable of accommodating a further 10 players. In thismanner the gaming server is capable, under server-stored programcontrol, to spawn as many separate instances of the game of multiplayerpoker as required in order to accommodate a pool of players who desireto play the game, in groups of a maximum of 10. Each instance of thegame spawned in this manner is treated as totally independent of theother instances.

The on-line casino websites 43 a, 43 b enable a player who desires tojoin the game of multiplayer poker to request, by means of one of thecomputing devices 44, participation in the game and, once admitted to aninstance of the game, to place a wager on a turn of that instance of thegame. During the play, each participating player is presented with anidentical graphical user interface (GUI) on his respective computingdevice 44 by a separate, locally stored, program in the computingdevice. The GUI presents to the player a suitable display of a pokergame (not shown) with appropriate activatable icons that enable theplayer to make his own desired game play decisions and to monitor theprogress of the multiplayer game by viewing the game play decisions ofthe other participating players in the same instance of the game.

The server-stored program also provides a wagering means 57 in the formof computer instructions operable by any participating player to place awager on a turn of the game, as well as a discrimination means in theform of computer instructions 55 capable of determining whether anywager placed by anyone of the participating players on the turn of theinstance of the game of multiplayer poker is successful or unsuccessful.The stored program in the gaming server 42 also maintains a dynamicregister 56 of all players admitted to, and actively participating in,all the spawned instances of the poker game from time to time, togetherwith data representative of a corresponding portal 43 a, 43 b throughwhich each participating player accessed the game. The dynamic register36 also contains data representative of an instance of the game in whichthe player is participating. The application web server 52 also settlesthe wagers of the participating players after the completion of everyturn of any instance of the game.

As a part of this dynamic register 56, or using a separate mechanismsuch as a state engine or state machine, the gaming server 42 preferablykeeps track of the current screen display of each computing device 44.Consequently, when a lobby page is displayed on a computing device 44,the gaming server 42 knows what update needs to occur on the computingdevice (i.e., which is the current page displayed on each computingdevice and therefore which updated page to transmit to the clientprocess for display). Such updated pages are constructed by reference tothe stored game instance data in the database 53.

The computing devices 44 may take the form of a conventional personalcomputer operating under a Windows, Linux, or Macintosh operatingsystem, provisioned with a web browser and a connection to the Internet.The computing devices 44 may also take the form of portable, hand-heldcomputing devices with a web browser and wireless Internet access. Thegaming server 42 may also operate under a Windows NT or otherconventional operating system.

A game of multiplayer poker using a computing device or workstation 44is facilitated by means of workstation-stored client gaming applicationor program (not shown) referred to, for convenience, as a client processthat is executable on a computer workstation 44, and a correspondingserver-stored program (not shown), or server process, that is executableon the gaming server 42. The server process (not shown) generates one ormore random events that affect the outcome of the game of poker, such asthe dealing of cards to participating players. The client process (notshown) obtains the result of the random events from the gaming server42, across the communication network 48 and displays the outcome of thegame on the display monitor 45 in an intelligible manner.

In order to play multiplayer poker or other games from any computerworkstation 44, the client process (not shown) must first be downloaded,e.g., from the gaming server 42 (or from the web site 43 a, or 43 b) tothat computer workstation. Such download will typically occur when thecomputing device 44 first accesses the home page of the web site 43 a,and 43 b, and the user is presented with a message asking the userwhether they wish to download the client process in order to play thegames. The user selects a “Yes” icon and the download then proceeds. Theclient process is then launched and communication between the computingdevice 44 and the gaming server 42 then proceeds. In a distributedtopology scenario, a player wishing to participate in the multiplayergames such as poker uses a computing device 44 to access an on-linecasino website 43 a, 43 b of his choice, but regardless of their choiceof website the user is presented with the same underlying clientprocess. The client processes will typically have different trademarks,color schemes, or “look and feel” depending on which on-line casinowebsite they downloaded the client process from.

Referring now to FIG. 5 and 6, an example of a lobby page 60 is shown.The lobby page provides information as to a variety of game types thatare shown in a pane 62 on the lobby page. The game types in this exampleare wager type card games, including Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 CardStud, 5 Card Stud, Private poker games, Sit and Go poker tournaments andMulti-table poker tournaments. A player selects one of the poker gametypes that is of interest and a further pane 64 displays information onindividual instances of games in the selected game type. The instancesin pane 64 in this example are individual virtual poker tables. The pane64 shows statistics or data for each game instance, such as the name ofthe table, the stakes, the number of available seats and the number ofplayers currently at the table, the table limit, average pot size, etc.In the example of FIG. 6, the game instances are $2/$4, Fixed Limit,Hold'em virtual poker tables, some of which are empty (no players). Thedata in the pane 64 of the lobby page is, essentially, in the form of apage of data, wherein the amount of data to show in the pane 64 is suchthat it fits in the available space in the pane 64 and scrolling is notnecessary. In the example of FIG. 6, data in the pane 64 is contained ina single page, but normally the pane 64 includes page icons (not shown)by which the user can select an additional page, go back a page, goforward a page, request the first page, request the last page, etc.

When the computing device 44 accesses the gaming server 42, it isprovided with the main lobby page shown in FIG. 5. In order to locate aninstance of the game to play, a player is required to use a navigationtree provided in pane 62 of the lobby display. The player is firstrequired to select the type of game in which the player wishes toparticipate, for example games of the Hold'em variety in FIG. 6,followed by a sub-category of that particular game type, for exampleFixed Limit games in FIG. 6, followed by games with a certain stakesize, for example $2/$4 games in FIG. 6. Once the player has traversedthe navigation tree in the pane 62 to a desired degree of resolution, alist of game instances having the selected characteristics is displayedin the pane 64, and the player is then ordinarily required to select aparticular instance of the game to join and in which to participate.

Ouick Search

In order to enable the player to more quickly find a game instance tojoin, the pane 62 in the lobby page 60 contains a search icon 66 labeled“Quick Search”. When the player clicks the Quick Search icon 66 in thepane 62 of the lobby page 60, a dialog box 70 is displayed to the playeron the computing device 44, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The dialog box 70 allows a player to configure search parametersrelating to a class or type of instance of an on-line real-time pokergame that the player wishes to play. Firstly, the player is able toselect a class of games to play, e.g., whether the player wishes to finda ring game or a Sit and Go game to play. A ring game is one in which aplayer is free to enter or to leave the poker game at any time, withoutrestriction, while a Sit and Go game is one which continues until adesired objective is reached such as, for the example, the emergence ofan overall winner in terms of a set of game rules. In order to searchfor a ring game, the player checks a “radio button” 72 in the dialog box70, as illustrated in FIG. 7. In order to search for a Sit and Go game,the player checks a “radio button” 74, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 9, in order to locate a desired ring game,the player may configure the following search criteria or parameters inthe dialog box 70:

-   -   a game type, selected from drop-down list 76 in which the        choices are Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha H/L, 7 Stud, and 5 Stud,        corresponding to the particular types of poker games previously        discussed;    -   a particular table name of a ring game, by checking box 78 and        entering the desired table name in field 80;    -   desired bet limits, by checking any one or more of a Fixed Limit        check box 82, a Pot Limit check box 84 and a No Limit check box        86. A Fixed Limit poker game is one in which participating        players may not wager or raise more than a predetermined amount,        whereas in a Pot Limit poker game, wagers or raises are limited        only by the amount of money in the pot at the time the wager is        made. In a No Limit game, a player may wager or raise any        amount, limited only by the player's bankroll.    -   desired table stakes, by checking box 88 and constructing a        search condition by means of drop-down lists 90, 92 and 94. The        choices in drop-down list 90 are “BETWEEN”, “GREATER THAN”,        “LESS THAN” and “EQUAL TO”, while those in drop-down lists 92        and 94 correspond to predefined table stakes ranging between        “$0.05/$0.10” and “$100/$200”. An example of such a search        condition is “games with table stakes BETWEEN “$5/$10        and$50/$100”, as illustrated in FIG. 9.    -   a desired number of players in the game instance, by checking        box 96 and constructing a search condition by means of drop down        lists 98, 100 and 102. An example of such a search condition is        “games having a number of players GREATER THAN 4”, as        illustrated in FIG. 9.    -   a desired average pot size, by checking box 104 and constructing        a search condition by means of drop-down lists 106, 108 and 110.        An example of such a search condition is “games having an        average pot size LESS THAN $500”, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 10, in order to locate a desired Sit and Gogame, the player is able to configure the following search criteria inthe dialog box 70:

-   -   a game type selected from drop-down list 76 in which the choices        are Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha H/L, 7 Stud and 5 Stud;    -   a particular name of a Sit and Go game, by checking box 78 and        entering the desired table name in field 80;    -   desired bet limits, by checking any one or more of a Fixed Limit        check box 82, a Pot Limit check box 84 and a No Limit check box        86;    -   a desired buy-in, or entry fee, for the game, by checking box        112 and constructing a search condition by means of drop-down        lists 114, 116 and 118. The choices in drop-down list 114 are        “BETWEEN”, “GREATER THAN”, “LESS THAN” and “EQUAL TO”, while        those in drop-down lists 116 and 118 correspond to predefined        buy-in amounts ranging from $1 to $10 000. An example of such a        search condition is “games with buy-in stakes BETWEEN $20 and        $100”, as illustrated in FIG. 10.    -   a desired number of entrants in the game or tournament instance,        by checking box 120 and constructing a search condition by means        of drop-down lists 122, 124 and 126. An example of such a search        condition is “games having a number of entrants GREATER THAN        10”, as illustrated in FIG. 10.

When the player has configured the search criteria as desired, either asdescribed above, for example, with reference to FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, theplayer initiates a search for games that meet the search parameters byactivating a “SEARCH” icon 128 in the dialog box 70. The computerworkstation 44 then creates a search parameter file (not shown)containing the search parameters that have been configured by theplayer, and stores the search parameter file on a local storage device(not shown) such as a hard disk drive. The computer workstation 44 alsotransmits the search parameter file (not shown) to the gaming server 42,which receives the search parameter file and searches the stored gameinstance data in the database 53 to locate all current instances of thepoker game that match the player's search parameters contained in thesearch parameter file (not shown). The gaming server 42 then transmitsgame data relating to all matching instances of the poker game to thecomputer workstation 44 and the client process (not shown) displays thegame for the matching instances in a separate display pane 130 in thedialog box 70, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 relating to ring games andSit and Go games, respectively. The player is then able to click any oneof the game entries in the display pane 130, which causes the clientprocess (not shown) to display the progress of the selected gameinstance on the computer workstation 44. If the selected game instancehas one or more vacant seats, the player is able to join the game.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate examples of configured player searches andcorresponding search results. In FIG. 11, the player has configured thefollowing search parameters:—ring games of the Texas Hold'em variety,whether Fixed Limit, Pot Limit or No Limit games, with stakes between$5/$10 and $50/$100, which have four or more players, and which have anaverage pot size less than $500. The gaming server 42 has locatedthirteen instances of the poker game that match the search parametersand corresponding game data for these instances is displayed in thedisplay pane 130 in the dialog box 70. In FIG. 12, the player hasconfigured the following search parameters:—Sit and Go games of theTexas Hold'em variety, whether Fixed Limit, Pot Limit or No Limit games,with buy-ins between $20 and $100 and with 10 or more entrants. Thegaming server 42 has located nine instances of the poker game that matchthese search parameters, the corresponding game data for each of theseinstances being displayed in the display pane 130 of the dialog box 70.

If the player clicks the Quick Search icon 66 on the lobby page 60 and asearch parameter file (not shown) is already stored on the computerworkstation 44 (arising from a previous search conducted by the player)the dialog box 70 will be displayed with the various radio buttons,check boxes and drop-down lists pre-configured in accordance with thecontents of the stored search parameter file. This means that the playeronly needs to click the SEARCH icon 128 in order to initiate a newsearch for desired instances of the poker game if the player'srequirements are unchanged from the previous search. If the playerwishes to modify the search in any way, it will be necessary for theplayer to modify the search parameters in the dialog box 70 as required,and the stored search parameter file (not shown) will be altered tocontain the modified search parameters.

Quick Start

The search facility of this disclosure may also take the form of afeature whereby when the gaming server finds a game instance that meet'sthe players preferences (i.e., search criteria), the gaming serverdirectly connects the player with the game instance, either with orwithout an intervening confirmation step. A search facility including anautomatic connection to a game instance meeting search criteria isreferred to herein as a “quick start” feature, one example of which isdescribed below for purposes of illustration and not limitation.

Referring now to FIG. 13, another example of a lobby page 200 is shown.The lobby page 200 provides information as to a variety of poker gamesthat are shown in a pane 202 on the lobby page. The poker games in thisexample are of the following types: Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo,7-Card Stud, 5-Card Stud, Sit and Go poker tournaments, Multi-Tablepoker tournaments and private poker games. A player selects one of thetypes of poker game that is of interest and a further pane 204 on thelobby page 200 displays information on individual game instances of theselected game type. In this example, the pane 204 displays informationon individual instances of poker games of the Texas Hold'em variety. Thepane 204 shows statistics or data for each instance of the game, such asthe name of the table, the table stakes, the number of available seatsat the table, and the number of players currently seated at the table,the wagering limits, the average pot size, etc. The data in the pane 204is essentially in the form of a page of data, wherein the amount of datato show in the pane 204 is greater than fits into the available space inthe pane and scrolling is necessary to be able to view all the data inthe page. In the example of FIG. 13, data in the pane 204 spans multipledifferent pages and the pane 204 includes page icons 206 by means ofwhich the player can select an additional page of data to view, goforward a page, etc.

When the computer workstation 44 accesses the server 42, it is providedwith the main lobby page 200 shown in FIG. 13. In order to locate aninstance of the poker game to join, a player may use a navigation treeprovided in the pane 202 of the lobby display. The player first selectsthe type of game in which to participate, for example, games of theTexas Hold'em variety in FIG. 13. Once the player has traversed thenavigation tree to a desired degree of resolution, a list of gameshaving the desired characteristics is displayed in the pane 204, and theplayer is the required to select a particular instance of the game tojoin and in which to participate.

In order to enable the player to more quickly join an instance of thegame, the pane 202 of the lobby page 200 contains an icon 208 labeled“Quick Start”. When the player clicks the Quick Start icon 208, dialogboxes 210 and 212 replace the pane 204 in the lobby display, as shown inFIG. 14. Dialog box 210 allows a player to configure characteristics ofa type of ring game that the player wishes to join, while dialog box 212allows the player to configure characteristics of a Sit and Gotournament in which the player wishes to participate. Suchcharacteristics specified by the player in the dialog boxes 210 and 212can be considered as search criteria, or, alternatively andequivalently, as a player preference profile.

In a preferred embodiment, once the player makes an initial selection ofpreferences using the dialog boxes 210 and/or 212, the resulting playerpreference profile is preferably stored in a permanent or semi-permanentform in the workstation such that it can be later recalled andtransmitted to the gaming server without the user having to re-enter theinformation, e.g., after the player has logged off of the gamingwebsite. In one alternative embodiment, the profile could be stored onthe network side, e.g., in a database accessible to the gaming server.

In order to commence play in a ring game, the player may configure thegame parameters in the dialog box 210. Such a profile may consist of thefollowing attributes in the representative embodiment shown in FIG. 14,but others are possible as well:

-   -   a game type, selected from drop-down list 214, in which the        choices are Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha H/L, 7 Stud and 5 Stud,        corresponding to the particular types of poker games previously        discussed;    -   a table type, selected from drop-down list 216, in which the        choices include Beginner, Normal, Head to Head and Turbo;    -   desired bet limits, selected from drop-down list 218, in which        the choices are Fixed Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit and Any Limit;        and    -   desired table stakes, selected from drop-down list 220, in which        the choices correspond to predefined table stakes ranging from        $0.05/$0.10 to $50/$100.

Once the player has configured the game parameters (player preferenceprofile) as desired, the player activates a “JOIN TABLE” icon 222 in thedialog box 210. Upon activation of the JOIN TABLE icon 222, the computerworkstation 44 creates a player preference profile file (not shown)containing the game parameters that have been configured by the playerin the dialog boxes, and stores the player preference profile file on alocal storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk drive. The computerworkstation 44 also transmits the player preference profile file (notshown) to the gaming server 42, which receives the file and searches thestored game instance data in the database 53 in order to locate aninstance of the poker game that matches the player's preference profilecontained in the file (not shown). As soon as the gaming server 42 findsa game instance that matches the player's game parameters and that hasone or more vacant seats, a datagram is transmitted to the workstationcontaining data linking the workstation directly to the game instance.The client process on the computer workstation 44 displays that gameinstance to the player and causes the player to automatically join thegame without any further intervention being required from the player. Inone possible variation, an intermediate confirmation step is provided toseek confirmation from the player that they wish to play the displayedinstance.

In the event that more than one game instance exists which matches tothe player preference profile, each with an empty seat, the gamingserver can execute one of a variety of algorithms to select a particularinstance of the game for the workstation to join. One possible algorithmwould be to join the player to the first game instance that is foundwhich matches the search parameters. Another possible algorithm would beto randomly choose one game instance from all of the game instancesfound that satisfy the search parameters. Another possible algorithmwould be to choose the game instance that matches the search parametersand that has the highest number of empty seats. Other algorithmicchoices are possible.

The dialog box 210 also contains a check box 224 that can be used by aplayer to determine what action the system 40 should take in the eventthat the gaming server 42 does not find any instance of the poker gamethat matches the player's preference profile contained in the playerpreference profile file (not shown). If the gaming server 42 does notfind any ring game that matches the player's preference profile, or amatching game that has one or more vacant seats, and the player has notchecked check box 224, the client process displays a warning message tothe player as illustrated at 240 in FIG. 15, e.g., “Quick Start did notfind any available games.” If, on the other hand, check box 224 ischecked, and the server 42 has found one or more matching instances ofthe game, none of which have an empty seat, the gaming server 42 willsend back a datagram to the client process that will cause the clientprocess on the computer workstation 44 to display a game instance havingan empty table and seats the player automatically at the table withoutany further intervention being necessary from the player.

The player may also start play at a Sit and Go tournament by means of aprocedure that is similar to that described above in respect of startingplay in a ring game. In particular, in order to commence play in a Sitand Go tournament, the player may configure the following tournamentparameters in dialog box 212:

-   -   a tournament type selected from drop-down list 226, in which the        choices are Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha H/L, 7 Stud and 5 Stud;    -   a desired buy-in and entry fee for the tournament, selected from        drop-down list 228, in which the choices range from $1 to $1000;    -   desired bet limits selected from drop-down list 230, in which        the choices are Fixed Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit and Any Limit;        and    -   desired number of table seats in the tournament, selected from        drop-down list 232, in which the choices are Heads Up, 6, 10, 6        or 10.

Once the player has configured the tournament parameters as desired, theplayer activates a “JOIN TOURNAMENT” icon 234 in the dialog box 212.Upon activation of the JOIN TOURNAMENT icon 234, the computerworkstation 44 creates a tournament parameter file (not shown)containing the tournament parameters that have been configured by theplayer (essentially, another player preference profile), and stores thetournament parameter file on a local storage device (not shown) such asa hard disk drive. The computer workstation 44 also transmits thetournament parameter file (not shown) to the gaming server 42, whichreceives the tournament parameter file and searches the stored gameinstance data in the database 53 in order to locate an instance of thepoker game that matches the player's tournament contained in thetournament parameter file (not shown). As soon as the gaming server 42finds a Sit and Go tournament that matches the player's tournamentparameters and that has one or more vacant seats, it causes the clientprocess on the computer workstation 44 to display that game instance tothe player and causes the player to automatically join the tournamentwithout further intervention from the player. If the gaming server 42does not find any Sit and Go tournament that matches the player'stournament parameters, or a Sit and Go tournament that is not full, theclient process displays a warning message to the player as illustratedat 240 in FIG. 15.

If the player activates the JOIN TABLE icon 222 and a player preferenceprofile file (not shown) is already stored on the computer workstation44 (arising from a previous Quick Start operation performed by theplayer), the dialog box 210 will be displayed on the computerworkstation 44 with the various input fields (i.e. drop-down lists andcheck boxes, etc.) pre-populated in accordance with the contents of thegame parameter file (not shown). This means that a player whoserequirements are unchanged from previous ones only needs to click theJOIN TABLE icon 222 in order to automatically join a ring game havingthe desired characteristics, thereby minimizing the time required tocommence play at a poker game. The player may modify the pre-populateddefault parameters in dialog box 210 as required, and the stored playerpreference profile file (not shown) will be updated to contain themodified game parameters. Analogously, the tournament parameters in thetournament parameter file (not shown) will be used as default parametersin dialog box 212 until subsequently changed by the player.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedin detail, those of skill in the art will recognize variousmodifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof asbeing present in the disclosure. For example, the details of the userinterface presentation of a search facility or quick start feature mayvary depending on the preference of the designer and the desired “lookand feel” of the user interface. Still further, additional or differentsearch criteria or player preferences may be provided to the userwithout departure of the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, as usedin the claims, the term “game instance” is meant to be encompassing ofboth a game instance, such as a virtual poker table, as well as atournament instance in which a player plays a game instance in the formof a tournament. It is intended that the following appended claims andclaims hereafter introduced are interpreted to include all suchmodifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations as arewithin their true spirit and scope.

1. A gaming application executable by a computer workstation for playingon-line games, the workstation linked to a central gaming serverfacilitating the playing of the on-line games over a network, the gamingapplication comprising a set of machine readable instructions stored ona memory device, said instructions comprising: a) instructions forpresenting on the workstation a search facility whereby a player canenter search criteria identifying attributes of on-line games ofinterest to the player; b) instructions for transmitting the searchcriteria to the central gaming server, whereby the central gaming servermay search a database of current game instances to identify a set of atleast one game instances meeting the search criteria.
 2. The gamingapplication of claim 1, wherein the search criteria are stored in amemory in the workstation, and wherein the gaming application displays asearch icon, and in the event that search criteria are stored in memoryand the search icon is selected by the player, the instructions b)transmit the stored search criteria to the gaming server.
 3. The gamingapplication of claim 1, wherein the search facility further comprises aquick start feature whereby the user may indicate they wish to bedirected automatically to a game instance.
 4. The gaming application ofclaim 1, wherein the search criteria comprise at least one of thefollowing: a class of games, a game type, a pot size, bet limits, tablestakes, a number of players in the instance of the game, and a number ofseats in a game tournament.
 5. The gaming application of claim 4,wherein the search criteria comprises a class of games, and wherein theclass of games comprises ring-type games and sit and go games.
 6. Thegaming application of claim 1, wherein the game instances comprise wagergames.
 7. The gaming application of claim 1, wherein the gaming serverresponds to the transmission of the search criteria by returning one ormore pages of game instances meeting the search criteria.
 8. The gamingapplication of claim 1, wherein the search facility is presented on alobby page of a virtual casino.
 9. The gaming application of claim 3,further comprising instructions for presenting on the display (1) afirst field comprising a navigation tree wherein a player may select atype of game, (2) a second field comprising a display of virtualinstances of games of the type selected in the first field, (3) an iconassociated with the search facility, and (4) an icon associate with thequick start feature.
 10. A method of facilitating selection of games byremotely located player using a computer workstation, the workstationlinked over a computer network to a central gaming server, comprisingthe steps of: receiving at the gaming server a search request from theworkstation, the search requests including search criteria dataidentifying attributes of on-line games of interest to the player; thegaming server searching a database of current on-line game instances forinstances meeting the search criteria; and responsively providing to theworkstation a datagram identifying one or more on-line game instancesmeeting the search criteria.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein thesearch request includes a quick start feature indicating that the playerwishes to be directed automatically to a game instance meeting thesearch criteria.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the search criteriacomprise at least one of the following: a class of games, a game type, apot size, bet limits, table stakes, a number of players in the instanceof the game, and a number of seats in a game tournament.
 13. The methodof claim 10, wherein the search criteria comprises a class of games, andwherein the class of games comprises ring-type games and sit and gogames.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the game instances comprisewager games.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the datagram comprisesor more pages of game instances meeting the search criteria.
 16. Amethod of automatically connecting a player with an on-line instance ofa game, the player using a computer workstation linked to a centralgaming server over a computer network, comprising the steps of:presenting to the player a display on the workstation wherein the playermay enter one or more player preferences identifying attributes of gamesof interest to the player; sending a first datagram to the gaming servercontaining the player preferences; receiving the first datagram at thegaming server and responsively searching through a database containinginstances of on-line games to identify at least one game instancemeeting the player preferences; returning a second datagram to theworkstation automatically directing the player to a game instanceidentified by the gaming server meeting the player preference.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein player preferences entered at theworkstation are stored on the workstation, wherein the player may laterselect an icon indicating they wish to join an instance of a gamemeeting the stored player preferences and such selection causes a thirddatagram to be sent to the gaming server to prompt selection by thegaming server of an instance of a game meeting the player preferences.18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of displaying aprompt to the player on the workstation seeking confirmation that theplayer wishes to join a game instance identified by the gaming server.19. The method of claim 16, wherein the player preferences comprise atleast one of: a class of games, a game type, table type, desired betlimits, desired table stakes, buy-in amount, a number of players in theinstance of the game, and a number of seats in a game tournament. 20.The method of claim 16, wherein the display further comprises an iconthat can be used by a player to determine what action the gaming servershould take in the event that the gaming server does not find anyinstances of games that match the player preferences.
 21. The method ofclaim 20, wherein the icon indicates that the player wishes to be seatedat an empty instance of a game meeting the player preferences.
 22. Acentral gaming system facilitating searching of on-line games for playby a player using a remotely located workstation, comprising: a databasestoring data representing multiple instances of on-line games; a gamingserver comprising a processing unit executing machine readableinstructions, wherein the processing unit searches the database inresponse to search criteria transmitted to the gaming sever from theworkstation to identify instances of games of interest to the player asspecified in the search criteria; the gaming server transmitting adatagram to the workstation identifying at least one instance of a gamemeeting the search criteria.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein thegaming server is operative to join the workstation to an instance of agame meeting the search criterion automatically.
 24. The system of claim22, wherein the search criteria comprise at least one of the following:a class of games, a game type, a pot size, bet limits, table stakes, anumber of players in the instance of the game, and a number of seats ina game tournament.
 25. The system of claim 22, wherein the searchcriteria comprises a class of games, and wherein the class of gamescomprises ring-type games and sit and go games.
 26. The system of claim22, wherein the game instances comprise on-line wager games.
 27. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein the gaming server responds to thetransmission of the search criteria by returning one or more pages ofgame instances meeting the search criteria.